The present invention relates to an automobile headlamp having a level for confirming whether the illumination angle of the headlamp in the up/down direction is proper or not. More particularly, the invention relates to an automobile headlamp in which the illumination angle of the headlamp can be easily adjusted when the illumination angle is not proper.
In a conventional headlamp, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,794,495 and 4,802,067, a level constituted by a bubble vial is attached at a predetermined position on the upper surface of a lamp body reflector unit having an inner surface on which a reflector is formed. The horizontal position of the level is made to coincide with the illumination axis of the headlamp. Thus, the illumination angle of the headlamp in the up/down direction can be adjusted by means of aiming mechanism while the scale of the level is observed.
However, in a thin headlamp, that is, a headlamp which is low in height in the vertical direction, there is a problem in that a level attached to the lamp at its upper portion is an impediment to reducing the vertical height of the lamp.
In a headlamp as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 07/370,949, filed on June 23, 1989 and as shown in FIG. 10 herein, a level 4 is integrally attached to a bulb socket 2 to measure the tilt angle of the headlamp in the up/down direction. In this approach, however, there has been a problem in that, since the bulb socket 2 and the level 4 are formed integrally with each other, when the bulb is replaced, the level must be thrown away with the bulb, resulting in high cost.